DOCSLIB.ORG

Asian Americans in the Civil Rights Movement Is Designed for 1St Through 8Th Grades

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Asian Americans in the Civil Rights Movement Is Designed for 1St Through 8Th Grades Asian Americans in the Civil Rights Movement Created by Noreen Naseem Rodríguez, Fall 2014 The Civil Rights Movement is often considered to be the time period from the passage of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in Memphis in 1968. It is typically taught in schools as a black/white narrative about the attainment of civil rights by African Americans with some Caucasian alliances. In elementary schools, instruction about the Civil Rights Movement often focuses heavily on Dr. King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and perhaps Ruby Bridges. This time period gave birth to several other social movements for civil rights, including the American Indian Movement, the Chicano Movement, and the Asian American Movement. Yet the fights against injustice and inequality by various ethnic groups began long before the late 1950s and 1960s. Some refer to these early, lesser­known efforts as the Long Civil Rights Movement, acknowledging that struggles occurred throughout American history. This series of lesson plans was designed to be taught within a larger unit on the Civil Rights Movement to provide students with information about the Asian American Movement and the alliances that some Asian Americans had with African Americans and others in the fight for civil rights. Two of the figures described in these lessons, Richard Aoki and Yuri Kochiyama, were closely involved with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party (BPP). Civil Rights Teaching has multiple handouts that allow teachers to present a great deal of information about the BPP. The Zinn Education project has resources for teaching students about the BPP’s Ten Point Program and Voices of Democracy has several classroom activities related to Stokely Carmichael’s Black Power speeches. Aoki and Kochiyama were young (Aoki was a toddler, Kochiyama 20 years old) when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 4, 1941. As a result of Executive Order 9066, all Japanese and Japanese Americans on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes ­ first they were moved to relocation centers then eventually to internment camps. Aoki’s family was placed in Topaz, Utah while Kochiyama’s family was interned in Jerome, Arkansas, where both families lived for about three years. The Smithsonian has some resources about Japanese internment and an assortment of children’s literature about internment is recommended under Additional Resources. 1 Unit Overview This instructional unit about Asian Americans in the Civil Rights Movement is designed for 1st through 8th grades. It integrates social studies content with language arts skills such as reading for comprehension, summarizing, comparing and contrasting, and drawing conclusions. Additional resources are provided to supplement the existing lessons for students/teachers interested in further research. The lessons, organized by grade, are as follows: Grades 1­3: Snapshots of School Segregation Students will discuss segregation and examine three snapshots of young girls who received national attention when they tried to enroll in all­White schools. After learning about the experiences of Ruby Bridges, Sylvia Mendez, and Mamie Tape, students make comparisons and contrasts and draw conclusions about segregation and equality in schools. A timeline of key events related to school segregation is provided along with worksheets to scaffold student comprehension through note­taking and graphic organizers. Additional text and video resources are provided for further student research. Grades 4­6: Faces of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement Students will learn about interracial alliances created by three well­known figures of the Asian American movement: Richard Aoki, Yuri Kochiyama, and Grace Lee Boggs. A reading comprehension check, critical thinking questions, and additional text and video resources are provided for further student research. Grades 5­8: The Asian American Movement Students will be introduced to the Long Civil Rights Movement and will use historical thinking and primary sources to analyze three key moments in contemporary Asian American history: the Third World Liberation Front, the International Hotel, and the murder of Vincent Chin. Students will examine the Model Minority stereotype and discuss ways that it is perpetuated in the media and how it is problematic. These lessons are in alignment with Dimension 2, Perspectives and Historical Sources and Evidence, of the National Council for the Social Studies’ College, Career, and Civil Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (2013). 2 Additional Resources Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, edited by Deborah Menkart, Alana D. Murray, and Jenice L. View Civil Rights History Project by the Library of Congress Civil Rights Done Right by Teaching Tolerance Related Tradebooks Picture Books about Japanese Internment A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee­Tai The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki So Far From the Sea by Eve Bunting Novels/Chapter Books about Japanese Internment The Moon Bridge by Marcia Savin Sylvia and Aki by Winifred Conkling The Invisible Thread by Yoshiko Uchida Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston The Journal of Ben Uchida by Barry Denenberg Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata Novels/Chapter Books about the Black Power Movement The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams­Garcia Graphic Novels about the Civil Rights Movement (7th grade+) Still I Rise by Roland Laird with Taneshia Nash Laird March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell Asian American History Timelines http://www.cetel.org/timeline.html http://www.angelatsai.com/aaldef/site/timeline.html# http://www.advancingjustice­chicago.org/sites/chicago/files/compas_aahistoricaltimeline_1.pdf 3 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Amache Teacher Resource Guide-Secondary
    Annotated Resource Set (ARS) Amache Teacher Resource Guide-Secondary Title/Content Area: Amache /US History Developed by: Kelly Jones-Wagy Grade Level: 9-12 Contextual Paragraph During World War II, 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps—including one in southeastern Colorado called the Granada Relocation Center, or “Amache.” Camp Amache was one of ten War Relocation Authority, or internment, camps where US authorities forced Japanese Americans to live after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Home to nearly 7,300 internees from 1942 to 1945, Amache now is a National Historic Landmark. Governor Ralph L. Carr took an unpopular stance, inviting Japanese Americans to stay in Colorado after the war and publicly stating his opinion that internment was unconstitutional. Amache officially closed in October 1945 following the end of World War II. However, for many of the Japanese internees, there was no home to return to. Some chose to stay in Colorado, as they were welcomed by Governor Carr. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, awarding $20,000 to every surviving internee and essentially apologizing for the internment process. 1 Resource Set Title Letter from Governor Letter from Robert D. Executive Order 9066 Map of Concentration Battle Honors for the Ralph Carr to Mrs. J.A. Elder to Governor Camps 442nd Hughes Ralph Carr Description March 6, 1942‐ March 1, 1942‐State February 19, 1942‐ Map shows where the Two letters from Governor Carr Senator Robert Elder President Roosevelt 10 relocation centers generals in 1945 responds to a woman requests that the uses executive power were located in the outlining the in La Junta who is governor refuse to to confine people of United States, their distinguished concerned that the allow the Japanese Japanese descent for populations, and the performance and internment camp is into Colorado and the duration of the type of each center.
    [Show full text]
  • Utah Curriculum Units* * Download Other Enduring Community Units (Accessed September 3, 2009)
    ENDURING COMMUNITIES Utah Curriculum Units* * Download other Enduring Community units (accessed September 3, 2009). Gift of the Nickerson Family, Japanese American National Museum (97.51.3) All requests to publish or reproduce images in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum. More information is available at http://www.janm.org/nrc/. 369 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel 213.625.0414 | Fax 213.625.1770 | janm.org | janmstore.com For project information, http://www.janm.org/projects/ec Enduring Communities Utah Curriculum Writing Team RaDon Andersen Jennifer Baker David Brimhall Jade Crown Sandra Early Shanna Futral Linda Oda Dave Seiter Photo by Motonobu Koizumi Project Managers Allyson Nakamoto Jane Nakasako Cheryl Toyama Enduring Communities is a partnership between the Japanese American National Museum, educators, community members, and five anchor institutions: Arizona State University’s Asian Pacific American Studies Program University of Colorado, Boulder University of New Mexico UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures Davis School District, Utah 369 East First Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel 213.625.0414 Fax 213.625.1770 janm.org | janmstore.com Copyright © 2009 Japanese American National Museum UTAH Table of Contents 4 Project Overview of Enduring Communities: The Japanese American Experience in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah Curricular Units* 5 Introduction to the Curricular Units 6 Topaz (Grade 4, 5, 6) Resources and References 34 Terminology and the Japanese American Experience 35 United States Confinement Sites for Japanese Americans During World War II 36 Japanese Americans in the Interior West: A Regional Perspective on the Enduring Nikkei Historical Experience in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah (and Beyond) 60 State Overview Essay and Timeline 66 Selected Bibliography Appendix 78 Project Teams 79 Acknowledgments 80 Project Supporters * Download other Enduring Community units (accessed September 3, 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • The Voices of Children: Re-Imagining the Internment of Japanese Americans Through Poetry
    Social Studies and the Young Learner 25 (4), pp. 30–32 ©2013 National Council for the Social Studies The Voices of Children: Re-imagining the Internment of Japanese Americans through Poetry Elizabeth M. Frye and Lisa A. Hash In this article, we describe just one activity from an interdisciplinary social justice unit1 taught to two fifth-grade social studies classes with the use of Cynthia Kadohata’s multicultural historical fiction novel Weedflower.2 Often, our younger students feel their voices are silenced...their messages are not heard. Like many of our fifth-grade students, the main characters in Kadohata’s novel are marginalized peoples whose voices were kept silent during a time of war hysteria. In this historical novel, Sumiko, a young Japanese American girl and her family are forced to relocate to Poston Internment Camp after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Poston, located in southwestern Arizona, was the largest of the ten internment camps (or “prison camps,” as many of its former residents called it) operated by the U.S. government during World War II. While at Poston, Sumiko befriends Frank, a young Mojave Indian who lives on the neighboring reservation. The Constitution’s Promises and Principles American was ever found guilty of endangering the U.S. during While learning about the internment camps, students also learn World War II. (Indeed, President Roosevelt recognized that the about the U.S. Constitution—how its promises were first violated, then-territory of Hawaii would collapse without its business and then, many years later, partially redeemed. leaders, administrators, engineers, and other civil servants—most The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states, of whom were of Japanese American descent.
    [Show full text]
  • From Nationalism to Migrancy: the Politics of Asian American Transnationalism 1 Kent A
    Communication Law Review From Nationalism to Migrancy: The Politics of Asian American Transnationalism 1 Kent A. Ono, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Following the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, more than a decade of anti-Chinese sentiment helped to create a post-Cold War hot-button environment. The loss of the Soviet bloc as a clear and coherent international opponent/competitor was followed by the construction of China as the United States' new most significant communist adversary. Hong Kong's return to China; Taiwan's promised return; China's one child policy; news reports of human rights abuses; and China's growing economic strength were all precursors to an environment of anti- Chineseness, the likes of which, as Ling-Chi Wang has suggested, had not existed since that surrounding the late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century Chinese Exclusion era. 2 These geopolitical concerns over China's threat to U.S. world dominance affected Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in the United States. Asian Americans such as John Huang and Wen Ho Lee, targeted for having engaged in allegedly traitorous activities, were, in effect, feeling the heat resulting from increasingly tense U.S./China relations. The frenzied concern over China and the potential danger Chinese Americans posed to the nation state, however, ended suddenly with 9/11. Where China figured prominently on nightly news, in headlines, and in federal intelligence, 9/11 instantaneously shifted the government, military, and media's focus of concern. First came Afghanistan, then Iraq. Since then, Indonesia, North Korea, Iran, and Libya all have been cited as possible adversaries in relation to 9/11.
    [Show full text]
  • A Conversation on Japanese American Incarceration & Its Relevance to Today
    CONVERSATION KIT Courtesy of the National Archives Tuesday, May 17, 2016 1:00-2:00 pm EDT, 10:00-11:00 am PDT Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center IN WORLD WAR II NATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION I: INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL SUMMIT . 3 Introduction . 3 Program Details . 4 Regional Summit Locations . 4 When, Where, and How to Participate . 4 Join the Conversation . 5 Central Questions . 6 Panelists and Participants . 7 Common Core State Standards . 9 National Standards for History . 10 SECTION II: LANGUAGE . 11 Statement on Terminology . 12 SECTION III: LESSON PLANS . 14 Lesson Plans and Resources on Japanese American Incarceration . 15 Lesson Ideas for Japanese American Incarceration and Modern Parallels . 17 SECTION IV: YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND TAKING ACTION . 18 What Can You Do? . 19 SECTION V: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES . .. 21 NATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION 3 SECTION I: INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL SUMMIT Thank you for participating in the Smithsonian’s National Youth Summit on Japanese American Incarceration. This Conversation Kit is designed to provide you with lesson activities and ideas for leading group discussions on the issues surrounding Japanese American incarceration and their relevance today. This kit also provides details on ways to participate in the Summit. The National Youth Summit is a program developed by the National Museum of American History in collaboration with Smithsonian Affiliations. This program is funded by the Smithsonian’s Youth Access Grants. Pamphlet, Division of Armed Forces History, Office of Curatorial Affairs, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Smithsonian National Museum of American History National Museum of American History Kenneth E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Invention of Asian Americans
    The Invention of Asian Americans Robert S. Chang* Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 947 I. Race Is What Race Does ............................................................................................ 950 II. The Invention of the Asian Race ............................................................................ 952 III. The Invention of Asian Americans ....................................................................... 956 IV. Racial Triangulation, Affirmative Action, and the Political Project of Constructing Asian American Communities ............................................ 959 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 964 INTRODUCTION In Fisher v. University of Texas,1 the U.S. Supreme Court will revisit the legal status of affirmative action in higher education. Of the many amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs filed, four might be described as “Asian American” briefs.2 * Copyright © 2013 Robert S. Chang, Professor of Law and Executive Director, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law. I draw my title from THEODORE W. ALLEN, THE INVENTION OF THE WHITE RACE, VOL. 1: RACIAL OPPRESSION AND SOCIAL CONTROL (1994), and THEODORE W. ALLEN, THE INVENTION OF THE WHITE RACE, VOL. 2: THE ORIGIN OF RACIAL OPPRESSION IN ANGLO AMERICA (1997). I also note the similarity of my title to Neil Gotanda’s
    [Show full text]
  • Representations: Doing Asian American Rhetoric
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DigitalCommons@USU Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All USU Press Publications USU Press 2008 Representations: Doing Asian American Rhetoric LuMing Mao Morris Young Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation Mao, LuMing and Young, Morris, "Representations: Doing Asian American Rhetoric" (2008). All USU Press Publications. 164. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/164 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the USU Press at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All USU Press Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REPRESENTATIONS REPRESENTATIONS Doing Asian American Rhetoric edited by LUMING MAO AND MORRIS YOUNG UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS Logan, Utah 2008 Utah State University Press Logan, Utah 84322–7800 © 2008 Utah State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Cover design by Barbara Yale-Read Cover art, “All American Girl I” by Susan Sponsler. Used by permission. ISBN: 978-0-87421-724-7 (paper) ISBN: 978-0-87421-725-4 (e-book) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Representations : doing Asian American rhetoric / edited by LuMing Mao and Morris Young. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-87421-724-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-87421-725-4 (e-book) 1. English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers. 2. Asian Americans--Education--Language arts. 3. Asian Americans--Cultural assimilation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Richard Aoki Case: Was the Man Who Armed the Black Panther Party an FBI Informant?
    THE RICHARD AOKI CASE: WAS THE MAN WHO ARMED THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY AN FBI INFORMANT? by Natalie Harrison A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Wilkes Honors College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Concentration in History Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University Jupiter, Florida April 2013 THE RICHARD AOKI CASE: WAS THE MAN WHO ARMED THE BLACK PANTHERS AN FBI INFORMANT? by Natalie Harrison This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s thesis advisor, Dr. Christopher Strain, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The Honors College and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ____________________________ Dr. Christopher Strain ___________________________ Dr. Mark Tunick ____________________________ Dr. Daniel White ____________________________ Dean Jeffrey Buller, Wilkes Honors College ____________ Date ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank, first and foremost, Dr. Strain for being such a supportive, encouraging and enthusiastic thesis advisor – I could not have done any of this had he not introduced me to Richard Aoki. I would also like to thank Dr. Tunick and Dr. White for agreeing to be my second readers and for believing in me and this project, as well as Dr. Hess for being my temporary advisor when I needed it. And finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for all their support and for never stopping me as I rattled on and on about Richard Aoki and how much my thesis felt like a spy movie.
    [Show full text]
  • Living Voices Within the Silence Bibliography 1
    Living Voices Within the Silence bibliography 1 Within the Silence bibliography FICTION Elementary So Far from the Sea Eve Bunting Aloha means come back: the story of a World War II girl Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler Pearl Harbor is burning: a story of World War II Kathleen Kudlinski A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (bilingual: English/Japanese) Amy Lee-Tai Baseball Saved Us Heroes Ken Mochizuki Flowers from Mariko Rick Noguchi & Deneen Jenks Sachiko Means Happiness Kimiko Sakai Home of the Brave Allen Say Blue Jay in the Desert Marlene Shigekawa The Bracelet Yoshiko Uchida Umbrella Taro Yashima Intermediate The Burma Rifles Frank Bonham My Friend the Enemy J.B. Cheaney Tallgrass Sandra Dallas Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows 1 Living Voices Within the Silence bibliography 2 The Journal of Ben Uchida, Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp Barry Denenberg Farewell to Manzanar Jeanne and James Houston Lone Heart Mountain Estelle Ishigo Itsuka Joy Kogawa Weedflower Cynthia Kadohata Boy From Nebraska Ralph G. Martin A boy at war: a novel of Pearl Harbor A boy no more Heroes don't run Harry Mazer Citizen 13660 Mine Okubo My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck Mary Pope Osborne Thin wood walls David Patneaude A Time Too Swift Margaret Poynter House of the Red Fish Under the Blood-Red Sun Eyes of the Emperor Graham Salisbury, The Moon Bridge Marcia Savin Nisei Daughter Monica Sone The Best Bad Thing A Jar of Dreams The Happiest Ending Journey to Topaz Journey Home Yoshiko Uchida 2 Living Voices Within the Silence bibliography 3 Secondary Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Jamie Ford Before the War: Poems as they Happened Drawing the Line: Poems Legends from Camp Lawson Fusao Inada The moved-outers Florence Crannell Means From a Three-Cornered World, New & Selected Poems James Masao Mitsui Chauvinist and Other Stories Toshio Mori No No Boy John Okada When the Emperor was Divine Julie Otsuka The Loom and Other Stories R.A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Asian American Movement
    Origins uf the Movement I looked in the mirror, And 1 saw me. And I didn't want to be Any other w'ay. Then I looked around, And I SLW you. And it was the first time 1 knew Who wc really are. -"Something about Me Todiy" A Gmin of Sum'music album During the late 196os, Asian American political activism began sponta- neously in different places. at diHerent time:, and with different perspectives On the West Coast, it began whcn comrnurity acti,,isli Socussd rttention OP Ihe wretched conditions of San Francisco's Chinatuwr and campus acliwsts protestrd tte absence of their historical experiences in college and univcrsity curricula. From these demonstrations came a plethora of community-based organizatiois providing much needed social services to the Asian ethnic com- munities ard campus vrganirations offering vehicles fo: Asian American stu~ dent actmiss thmughout the western seaboarj to participarr in pro1:st pnlitics On the East Coast. political activism begar quietly in New Yorl. whcn two nisei women lamented the abseme of a Japanere American community and the steady :rosion of a Iapancse American identity among rheir children. I: NaS based mainly in New York City and its !eaden dedoped an early enthu~ siasm for ridicai ideologies. In !he Midwert, political activism began when ,4sian American college students came together for mltual support and col- 11 12 : Chapier 1 t lective aclior Many of them even uall) left college to p to an Aiian ethnic !- cnmmumty, usually on one of the cmm, in search of theu roots The West Caast: “Beyond the Chinatown Youth Problema’’ As with other social movements offhe 1960s,the Asian American Movement owes a deb1 of gratitude to the civil rights mo!’ement for exposing the gap be- tween the corntry’s imige of itseli and reality: Instead of a land of equality where a permn could schieve suc:ess through individurl effort, the United States was ciiticized as a land of inequality lvhere rxiil discrimination de- graded African Americans, relegating them to second-class status.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue Brief #160: Asian American Protest Politics “The Politics of Identity”
    Issue Brief #160: Asian American Protest Politics “The Politics of Identity” Key Words Political visibility, Yellow Power Movement, pan-Asian American identity, model minority, perpetual foreigners, reverse discrimination Description This brief seeks to review the history of Asian American protest movements in the twentieth century and the political ramifications of historic Asian American stereotypes, such as the “model minority” and “perpetual foreigner” prejudices. It also assesses the consequences of these myths that may unfold if Asian Americans continue to feel excluded from political culture and society. Key Points Asians currently constitute five percent of the American population, and this small percentage may contribute to their seemingly low political visibility. Furthermore, immigration to the United States by Asians is a relatively recent phenomenon, with small numbers arriving in the 1830s followed by decades of restricted access and exclusion from citizenship. It wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s when legal changes facilitated Asian immigration to the United States. Spikes of high arrival have occurred throughout the past decades. Today, Asians represent the fastest growing immigrant group in the United States, which has enormous political implications. (See U.S. Census reference) Like most other immigrant groups, Asian Americans seek racial equality, social justice, and political empowerment. Their mobilization has often been based on an inter-Asian coalition based on a pan-Asian identity. However, in light of this sweeping categorization, the most recent Asian American ethnic consciousness movements have highlighted the diversity of peoples included within this broad pan-ethnic category. (See Lien, Nguyen) Asian Americans seek to imbue their pan-ethnic identity with new definition and depth by protesting the stereotypes and caricatures that diminish them as individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • Document Resume
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 261 959 SO 016 847 AUTHOR Endo, Russell TITLE The Current Status of Japanese Americans. PUB DATE Jun 85 NOTE 20p.; Paper presented at the Southwest Forum on Minority Group Research (Denver, CO, June 1985). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (120) -- Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Acculturation; Economic Factors; Economic Status; *Japanese American Culture; *Japanese Americans; Social History; Social Problems; Social Science Research; *Social Status; Stereotypes ABSTRACT A study of the current status of Japanese Americans is divided into three sections. Following a brief introduction, a background section provides an overview of Japanese American history, population size and socioeconomic measures, and selected social characteristics. A second section looks in greater depth at socioeconomic status as reported in findings of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the United States Bureau of the Census. Among the findings are the greater tendency of Japanese Americans than White Americans to have two-income families, lower median incomes, high median education and overrepresentation in fields such as science and engineering. Also considered are characteristic social problems and the question of. assimilation. Common conceptions of Japanese Americans as having few social problems and assimilating easily are refuted. In the conclusion, the author states that the positive image of Japanese Americans has certain negative consequences in that it validates the American idea of equal opportunity and obscures important social problems facing Japanese Americans. (LP) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** MS.P4ASTMENTOPSOUCATICW NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI yfiThis document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it.
    [Show full text]